Video game systems and methods

ABSTRACT

Example systems and methods relate to playing a multi-player video game in which multiple players each supply inputs to a respective input device to control a corresponding game character in a game world displayed on a display screen. Movements of each game character in the game world are controlled in accordance with respective first game character control operations during the playing of the multi-player video game. In response to satisfaction of one or more conditions, one player&#39;s game character is protected from harm in the game world, wherein one of the one or more conditions is a condition triggered voluntarily by the one player. Movements of the protected game character in the game world are controlled based on a position of another, unprotected game character.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 14/172,674,filed Feb. 4, 2014, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,446,312, which is a continuationof application Ser. No. 13/610,066, filed Sep. 11, 2012, now U.S. Pat.No. 8,678,891, which is a continuation of application Ser. No.12/893,861, filed Sep. 29, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,282,454. Thecontents of each of these applications are incorporated herein in theirentirety.

BACKGROUND

In a typical video game, a player uses an input device to controlactions and movement of a game character in a virtual game world. Gamesoften include obstacles and challenges for the game character toovercome and the game may have multiple levels in which the obstaclesand challenges become more difficult so that greater player skill isrequired.

When a player fails to overcome some obstacle or challenge, the gamecharacter may, for example, lose “vitality” or be returned to thebeginning of a particular level. Generally, if the player fails acertain number of times or vitality becomes zero, game play ends forthat player.

Games can be enjoyed by players having different skill levels. However,players of different skill levels can find it difficult to play amulti-player game together because player(s) having greater skill(“power player(s)”) will relatively quickly proceed to game levels whichare too complicated or difficult for those having lesser skill. Thisreduces enjoyment for the lesser-skilled player(s). On the other hand,the better player(s) are likely to become bored if the game remains at alevel at which the lesser skilled players can play.

At the E3 convention in June 2009, a multi-player Super Mario Bros. gamedemo encased a game character in a protective bubble when the characterlost a life. The character remained encased in the bubble until freed byanother player. While in the bubble, the character could not be harmed,but also could not participate in game play. Thus, instead of the playerbeing eliminated from further game play upon losing a life, the playerwas penalized, but was able to play on, albeit with reduced capabilities(e.g., very limited control of game character movements and actions) forat least some period time.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an example game system in which the systems and methodsdescribed herein can be used.

FIG. 2 is a detailed block diagram showing components of example gameconsole 100 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows an example screen which includes game characters encased inrespective transparent bubbles within a game world.

FIG. 4 shows a more detailed view of an operation section of examplecontroller 107.

FIGS. 5A-5C illustrate movement of an in-bubble game character.

FIG. 6 shows an in-bubble game character penetrating a surface feature.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

This application describes example systems and methods that relate toplaying a multi-player video game in which multiple players each supplyinputs to a respective input device to control a corresponding gamecharacter in a scrolling-type game world displayed on a display screen.The video game may be played using a video game console, a hand-heldgaming device, a personal digital assistant, a cellular phone, apad-type computer, a notebook computer, a personal computer and thelike. Each player controls a game character in response to inputssupplied to the respective input device. The input device may includeone or more of buttons, keys, sliders, joysticks, cross-switches and thelike and may also sense motion or position change through the use of oneor more of cameras, accelerometers, gyro sensors, ultrasonictransducers, magnetometers and the like.

In response to a first predetermined input (e.g., a button press) fromone of the players, that player's game character is protected from harmin the game world. This protected state may be shown by, for example,wrapping or encasing the game character in a bubble. The protected gamecharacter moves based on the scrolling/non-scrolling state of the gameworld determined in accordance with movement of one or more unprotectedgame characters. For example, if the game world is not scrolling, theprotected game character may move generally toward the center of thecurrently displayed game world. If the game world is scrolling, theprotected game character may move generally in the same direction as thegame world background.

The protecting of the game character is stopped in response to one ormore protecting stopping conditions, whereby the game character is againfully controllable by the one player in response to inputs to therespective input device. By way of example, the protecting may bestopped when the protected game character contacts another, unprotectedgame character. By way of further example, the protecting may be stoppedwhen the protected game character is hit by a projectile (e.g., afireball, a shell, etc.), such as a projectile flung by another gamecharacter.

By allowing a player to voluntarily invoke the protection feature, theplayer's character can be protected during difficult parts of the gameas determined by the player's own judgment and can follow along with theprogress of a better player(s). This can make the playing ofmulti-player games among players of differing abilities more enjoyable.

FIG. 1 shows a non-limiting example game system 10 in which the videogame systems and methods described herein may be used. As shown in FIG.1, example game system 10 includes a game console 100, a television 102and a controller 107. While FIG. 1 shows a video game console, thesystems and methods described herein are in no way limited to thisgaming environment and are also applicable to video games running onhand-held gaming devices, personal digital assistants, cellulartelephones, pad-type computers, notebook computers, personal computersand the like.

Game console 100 executes a game program(s) or other softwareapplication(s) stored on optical disc 104, which is inserted into slot105 formed in housing 110 thereof. The result of the execution of thegame program or other application is displayed on display screen 101 oftelevision 102 to which game console 100 is connected by cable 106.Audio associated with the game program or other application is outputvia speakers 109 of television 102. While an optical disk is shown inFIG. 1, the game program or other application may alternatively oradditionally be stored in whole or part on other removable ornon-removable, non-transitory storage media such as semiconductormemories, magneto-optical memories, magnetic memories and the like.

Controller 107 is held in a player's hand and wirelessly transmits datasuch as game control data to the game console 100. The game control datamay be generated using an operation section of controller 107 having,for example, a plurality of operation buttons, a key, a stick and thelike. Controller 107 may also wirelessly receive data transmitted fromgame console 100. Any one of various wireless protocols such asBluetooth (registered trademark) or WiFi may be used for the wirelesstransmissions between controller 107 and game console 100.

A “nunchuk” controller 125 may be connected to controller 107. Althougha wired connection is shown in FIG. 1 between controller 107 and nunchukcontroller 125, alternatively, a wireless connection may be used.Nunchuk controller 125 may be held in the user's “other” hand (i.e., thehand not holding controller 107) and provides additional game controldata to video game console 100.

Controller 107 also includes an imaging information calculation section(not shown) for capturing and processing images from light-emittingdevices 108 a and 108 b. Although markers 108 a and 108 b are shown inFIG. 1 as being above television 100, they may also be positioned belowtelevision 100. In one implementation, a center point betweenlight-emitting devices 108 a and 108 b is substantially aligned with avertical center-line of display screen 101. The images fromlight-emitting devices 108 a and 108 b can be used to determine adirection in which controller 107 is pointing as well as a distance ofcontroller 107 from display screen 101. Additional details of theimaging operation may be found in U.S. Patent Publication No.2007-0066394 A1; U.S. Patent Publication No. 2007-0072674 A1; and U.S.Patent Publication No. 2007-0060228 A1. The entire contents of each ofthese applications are expressly incorporated herein.

Controller 107 also preferably includes an accelerometer(s) and/or agyro sensor(s). For example, controller 107 may include a three-axis,linear accelerometer that detects linear acceleration in threedirections, e.g., the up/down direction, the left/right direction, andthe forward/backward direction. Linear accelerometers are only capableof detecting acceleration along a straight line corresponding to eachaxis thereof. In other words, the direct output of the accelerometer islimited to signals indicative of linear acceleration (static or dynamic)along each of the axes thereof. As a result, the accelerometer cannotdirectly detect movement along a non-linear (e.g. arcuate) path,rotation, rotational movement, angular displacement, tilt, position,attitude or any other physical characteristic. However, throughadditional processing of the linear acceleration signals output from theaccelerometer, additional information relating to controller 107 can beinferred or calculated (determined). For example, by detecting static,linear acceleration (i.e., gravity), the linear acceleration output ofthe accelerometer can be used to determine tilt of the controllerrelative to the gravity vector by correlating tilt angles with detectedlinear acceleration. In this way, the accelerometer can be used incombination with a micro-computer (not shown) of controller 107 (oranother processor such as a processor of the video game console 100) todetermine tilt, attitude or position of controller 107. Similarly,various movements and/or positions of controller 107 can be calculatedthrough processing of the linear acceleration signals generated by theaccelerometer when controller 107 is subjected to dynamic accelerationsby, for example, a user shaking or waving the controller.

Gyro sensors can be used in addition to, or in place of, theacceleration sensor for determining, for example, movement, tilt, etc.of the controller.

With reference to the block diagram of FIG. 2, game console 100 includesa RISC central processing unit (CPU) 204 for executing various types ofsoftware applications including (but not limited to) video gameprograms. CPU 204 executes a boot program stored, for example, in a bootROM to initialize game console 100. CPU 204 can also execute a softwareapplication (or applications) stored on optical disc 104, which isinserted in optical disk drive 208, or in some other memory accessibleto CPU 204. User-accessible eject button 210 provided on housing 110 ofgame console 100 may be used to eject an optical disk from disk drive208.

CPU 204 is connected to system LSI 202 that includes graphics processingunit (GPU) 216 with an associated graphics memory 220, audio digitalsignal processor (DSP) 218, internal main memory 222 and input/output(IO) processor 224.

IO processor 224 of system LSI 202 is connected to one or more USB ports226, one or more standard memory card slots (connectors) 228, WiFimodule 230, flash memory 232 and wireless controller module 240.

USB ports 226 are used to connect a wide variety of external devices togame console 100. These devices include by way of example withoutlimitation game controllers, keyboards, storage devices such as externalhard-disk drives, printers, speakers, microphones, digital cameras, andthe like. USB ports 226 may also be used for wired network (e.g., LAN)connections. In one example implementation, two USB ports 226 areprovided.

Standard memory card slots (connectors) 228 are adapted to receiveindustry-standard-type memory cards (e.g., SD memory cards). In oneexample implementation, one memory card slot 228 is provided. Thesememory cards are generally used as data carriers but of course this useis provided by way of illustration, not limitation. For example, aplayer may store game data for a particular game on a memory card andbring the memory card to a friend's house to play the game on thefriend's game console. The memory cards may also be used to transferdata between the game console and personal computers, digital cameras,and the like. Content such as photos and music contained on memory cardsinserted into slot 228 may be accessed via the user interface of theconsole for output, for example, using the display screen 101 andspeakers 109 of television 102.

WiFi module 230 enables game console 100 to be connected to a wirelessaccess point. The access point may provide internet connectivity foron-line gaming with players at other locations (with or without voicechat capabilities), as well as web browsing, e-mail, software downloads(including downloads of game software and other applications) and manyother types of on-line activities. In some implementations, WiFi module230 may also be used for communication with other game devices such assuitably-equipped hand-held game devices. Module 230 is referred toherein as “WiFi”, which is generally a designation used in connectionwith the family of IEEE 802.11 specifications (e.g., 802.11, 802.11a,802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, etc.). However, game console 100 may ofcourse alternatively or additionally use wireless modules that conformto other wireless standards.

Flash memory 232 stores, by way of example without limitation, game savedata, system files, internal applications for the console and downloadeddata (such as games).

Wireless controller module 240 receives signals wirelessly transmittedfrom one or more controllers 107 and provides these received signals toIO processor 224. The signals transmitted by controller 107 to wirelesscontroller module 240 may include signals generated by controller 107itself (e.g., button press data, accelerometer data, gyroscope data,etc.) as well as signals generated by other devices such as nunchukcontroller 125 that may be connected to controller 107. Of course, inother implementations, nunchuk controller 125 may directly communicatesignals (by wire or wirelessly) to wireless controller module 240 ofconsole 100. As mentioned above, the communications may use theBluetooth protocol.

Wireless controller module 240 may also wirelessly transmit signals tocontroller 107. By way of example without limitation, controller 107(and/or another game controller such as nunchuk controller 125 connectedthereto) may be provided with vibration circuitry and vibrationcircuitry control signals may be sent via wireless controller module 240to control the vibration circuitry (e.g., by turning the vibrationcircuitry on and off). By way of further example without limitation,controller 107 may be provided with (or be connected to) a speaker (notshown) and audio signals for output from this speaker may be wirelesslycommunicated to controller 107 via wireless controller module 240. Byway of still further example without limitation, controller 107 may beprovided with (or be connected to) a display device (not shown) anddisplay signals for output from this display device may be wirelesslycommunicated to controller 107 via wireless controller module 240. Itwill be appreciated that wireless controller module 240 can communicatesignals to nunchuk 125 either directly or via controller 107.

Proprietary memory card slots 246 are adapted to receive proprietarymemory cards. In one example implementation, two such slots areprovided. These proprietary memory cards have some non-standardfeature(s) such as a non-standard connector and/or a non-standard memoryarchitecture. For example, one or more of the memory card slots 246 maybe adapted to receive memory cards used with the Nintendo GameCubeplatform. In this case, memory cards inserted in such slots can transferdata from games developed for the GameCube platform.

One or more controller connectors 244 are adapted for wired connectionto respective game controllers. In one example implementation, four suchconnectors are provided for wired connection to game controllers for theNintendo GameCube platform. Alternatively, respective wireless receiversmay be connected to connectors 244 to receive signals from wireless gamecontrollers. These connectors enable players, among other things, to usecontrollers for the Nintendo GameCube platform when an optical disk fora game developed for this platform is inserted into optical disk drive208.

A connector 248 is provided for connecting game console 100 to DC powerderived, for example, from an ordinary wall outlet. Of course, the powermay be derived from one or more batteries.

GPU 216 performs image processing based on instructions from CPU 204.GPU 216 includes, for example, circuitry for performing calculationsnecessary for displaying three-dimensional (3D) graphics. GPU 216performs image processing using graphics memory 220 dedicated for imageprocessing and a part of internal main memory 222. GPU 216 generatesimage data for output to television 102 by audio/video connector 214 viaaudio/video IC (interface) 212.

Audio DSP 218 performs audio processing based on instructions from CPU204. The audio generated by audio DSP 218 is output to television 102 byaudio/video connector 214 via audio/video IC 212.

External main memory 206 and internal main memory 222 are storage areasdirectly accessible by CPU 204. For example, these memories can store anapplication program such as a game program or other softwareapplication, applet, script, etc. read from optical disc 104 by the CPU204, a game program or other application, applet, script, etc. read fromflash memory 232 by CPU 204, various types of data and the like.

ROM/RTC 238 includes a real-time clock and preferably runs off of aninternal battery (not shown) so as to be usable even if no externalpower is supplied. ROM/RTC 238 also may include a boot ROM and SRAMusable by the console.

Power button 242 is used to power game console 100 on and off. In oneexample implementation, power button 242 must be depressed for aspecified time (e.g., one or two seconds) to turn the console off so asto reduce the possibility of inadvertently turn-off. Reset button 244 isused to reset (re-boot) game console 100.

With reference to FIG. 4, example controller 107 includes a housing 301on which operating controls 302 a-302 h are provided. Housing 301 has agenerally parallelepiped shape and is sized to be conveniently graspedby a player's hand. Cross-switch 302 a is provided at the center of aforward part of a top surface of the housing 301. By actuatingcross-switch 302 a, the player can, for example, move a character indifferent directions in a virtual game world.

Buttons (or keys) 302 b through 302 g are provided rearward ofcross-switch 302 a on the top surface of housing 301. Buttons 302 bthrough 302 g are operation devices that output respective signals whena player presses them. Generally, buttons 302 b through 302 g areassigned various functions in accordance with the application beingexecuted by game console 100. Button 302 h is a power switch for remoteon-off switching of the power to game console 100.

A plurality (e.g., four) of LEDs 304 is provided rearward of button 302c on the top surface of housing 301. Controller 107 is assigned acontroller type (number) so as to be distinguishable from othercontrollers used with game console 100 and LEDs 304 may be used toprovide a player a visual indication of this assigned controller number.

An example multi-player video game will now be described. The particulardetails of the example video game are provided by way of illustrationand not limitation. The example video game uses side scrolling andvertical scrolling in which the screen scrolls forward and backward andup and down based on the movement direction and speed of the gamecharacters. Of course, the systems and methods described herein are notlimited to such games.

Program instructions for the video game may be encoded onto an opticaldisk 104 (i.e., a non-transitory computer readable medium), which isinserted in optical disk drive 208 of game console 100. Alternatively,the program instructions may be downloaded to game console 100 (e.g.,via a connection to the internet) and stored in on-board memory, such asflash memory 232. In either case, these program instructions areexecuted by CPU 204, and GPU 216 performs image processing based oninstructions from CPU 204. Images resulting from the image processingare displayed on television 102. Audio DSP 218 performs audio processingfor the game based on instructions from CPU 204. Audio resulting fromthe audio processing is output via speakers 109 of television 102.

The example video game selectively protects game characters by wrappingor surrounding them with a “bubble.” While a player's character isencased or enclosed in a bubble, the character cannot be freelymanipulated by the player. For example, the player has limited movementcontrol of the bubble-encased character and the player cannot controlthe bubble-encased character to perform actions such as weapon use,jumping and the like. In addition, the bubble-encased character is notaffected by geographical objects in the game. For example, such acharacter may penetrate into and pass through surfaces such as theground or walls.

FIG. 3 shows an example screen which includes game characters 302, 304and 306 encased in respective, transparent (or substantiallytransparent) bubbles 308, 310 and 312 within a game world 350. Gamecharacter 320 is not encased in a bubble. In the FIG. 3 example, bubbles308, 310 and 312 are spherical bubbles that surround or wrap around gamecharacters 302, 304 and 306. Other bubble shapes (e.g., cubes,ellipsoids, etc.) may be used. In addition or alternatively, othertechniques may be used to indicate that a particular character isprotected from harm in the game world (e.g., different color(s),highlighting, blinking, change in size and the like). A shield or aforce field may also be used to show that a game character is in aninvulnerable state.

A bubble-encased character is protected from or invulnerable to theeffects of game objects (e.g., enemy characters or enemy attack objects)that might otherwise cause the game character to lose its life or tolose vitality.

The above-described behavior continues until the bubble is “burst” or“popped” (e.g., by contacting or touching another player's character orby being contacted or hit with a projectile such as a fireball or shell)from another player's character.

There are two ways for a game character to enter a bubble state in theexample video game.

First, a player's character is automatically placed in a bubble by thegame program when a player makes a mistake or error (or some number ofmistakes or errors) or suffers some loss of vitality that wouldordinarily cause game play to end for that player. Thus, for example, ifa received blow or strike from a weapon or projectile would ordinarilycause a character to lose its life and end game play for that character,the character is instead encased in a bubble.

Second, a player's character may be encased in bubble by the gameprogram when the player provides a predetermined input to controller107. By way of example and without limitation, the predetermined buttonmay be button 302 d on controller 107 shown in FIG. 4. Of course, otherbuttons, keys or actions may be used to cause a player's character to beplaced in a bubble.

Thus, a character may enter a bubble involuntarily (when a player makesa mistake or error) or voluntarily (when the player provides apredetermined input). Because an encased, “in-bubble” character is in aninvulnerable state, a player of lesser skill can voluntarily put his/hercharacter in a bubble and “follow along” with a player of greater skillwithout being vulnerable to attack or vitality-reducing game worldobjects. Thus, a lesser skilled player can voluntarily place his/hergame character in a protective bubble and allow a more skilled player tonavigate through a difficult area of the game world, until the lesserskilled player's character arrives at a “safer” place. This makes themulti-player game more enjoyable for both greater- and lesser-skilledplayers.

In the example video game, at least one game character must not be in abubble in order for the video game to proceed. Thus, if all playersexcept one are in bubbles and the remaining player makes a mistake orerror, the game program causes game play to end. In addition, if allplayers except one are in bubbles and the remaining player pressesbutton 302 d to voluntarily enter a bubble, the game program causes gameplay to end.

If a player's character is wrapped in a bubble because of error ormistake or loss of vitality, the in-bubble character appears after ashort lapse of time at a position displaced from the location of theerror or mistake in the game progress (scrolling) direction. Thus, ifthe game is side-scrolling in a forward direction, the in-bubblecharacter is displaced in the forward direction relative to the positionat which the mistake or error occurred. This disappearance for a shortperiod of time constitutes a penalty for the player and also signals toother players that an error or mistake was made. If a player pressesbutton 302 d to enter a bubble, the in-bubble character appearsimmediately at the location of the character at the time the button waspressed.

If the game is transitioning from one level or area to another (e.g.,via a door or portal) when the player's character enters a bubble eitherbecause of mistake or because of a button press, the bubble appears innew level or area.

When a player's character enters a bubble, the in-bubble charactergenerally moves or floats toward the center of the screen if the screenis not scrolling. FIG. 5A shows a non-scrolling screen and character 502generally moves in the direction of arrow 504 toward the center of thescreen. It is of course not necessary that the movement of the in-bubblecharacter be toward the exact geometric screen center—the movement couldsimply be toward the vicinity of the screen center.

When the screen is scrolling, the in-bubble character moves or floats inthe same direction as the background. With reference to FIGS. 5B and 5C,the screen 530 is scrolling up and thus the background and in-bubblecharacter 532 moves in a downward direction as can be seen by comparingthese two figures.

The moving in-bubble character acquires “inertia” so that a movingin-bubble character may continue to move even if, for example, thescrolling of the screen stops. Thus, referring to FIG. 5C, if the screenscrolling was to stop, the in-bubble character 532 would continue tomove downward until it reached the edge 554 of the screen and then itwould bounce off the screen edge 554 in a generally upward direction.

The in-bubble character may penetrate at least partly into geographicsurfaces such as the ground or walls. As shown in FIG. 6, in-bubblecharacter 602 has partially penetrated into wall 604. The game programmay be configured so that a certain amount of surface penetration occursbefore the in-bubble character bounces off the surface or so that thein-bubble character penetrates or passes through the surface until ascreen boundary is reached. Which of these configurations is used may bedependent, for example, upon the location of the geographic surface. Forexample, if the surface is a wall along the side of the screen, thein-bubble character may penetrate the wall a certain amount beforebouncing away. If the surface is a ledge in the middle of the screen,the in-bubble character may pass through the ledge and continue movementuntil it collides with a screen edge or a wall along the side of thescreen. If desired, the inertia of the in-bubble character may bereduced based on the amount of surface penetration. Thus, movement of anin-bubble character may be slowed down when it passes through orpenetrates an object.

The player whose character is in a bubble has only limited control ofthe in-bubble character's motion. In particular, the movement control islimited to causing the in-bubble character to move in the direction of acharacter not in a bubble in response to a predetermined input usingcontroller 107. As explained below, if the in-bubble character contactsa character that is not in a bubble, the bubble pops or bursts. Toeffect this movement control in the example video game, the player wavescontroller 107. The game program may be configured to require that thewaving is in the form of a particular gesture (e.g., a sideways swipe)or any gesture sufficient to generate an acceleration that exceeds somethreshold value. The accelerometer in controller 107 senses accelerationresulting from the waving and acceleration signals resulting from thesensed acceleration are supplied from controller 107 to console 102. Inresponse, the game program causes the bubble to begin to move at a fixedspeed toward the closest character not wrapped in a bubble. In addition,the game program controls console 102 to send a signal to the wavedcontroller so that a sound is emitted from that controller.

A bubble pops or bursts under two conditions. First, a bubble pops if itis directly contacted by another player's character that is not in abubble. Second, a fireball or object can be flung by a character toburst a bubble. The following discussion describes the position at whicha bubble bursts if either of the above conditions is met.

In a case in which an in-bubble character contacts a character that isnot in a bubble, a collision check is performed between the in-bubblecharacter, geographical feature objects on the screen and gamecharacters other than the character contacted to pop the bubble. Asnoted above, in-bubble characters can at least partly penetrategeographical feature objects and the above-mentioned collision check ismade so that the bubble does not burst while the in-bubble characterpenetrates a surface. There are various ways to perform such a collisioncheck. For example, the collision check can be performed using a squarebox that surrounds the in-bubble character and determining whether thisbounding box overlaps with (i.e., is colliding with) a surface of ageographical object and/or a game character other than the charactercausing the bubble to pop.

If the result of the collision check is negative (i.e., the in-bubblecharacter is not penetrating the surface of a geographical featureobject and is not in contact with a game character other than thecharacter causing the bubble to burst), the bubble bursts immediatelyand the player's character can resume normal participation in the game.

If the result of the collision checks determines that the in-bubblecharacter is penetrated within a surface, the game program moves thebubble in the direction of the character that touched it. The collisioncheck is then repeated until the collision check is negative, at whichtime the bubble is burst and the player's character can resume normalparticipation in the game.

If the result of the collision check determines that the in-bubblecharacter is contacting a game character other than the charactercausing the bubble to pop, the game program causes the bubble to passthrough this other character before popping.

In a case in which the in-bubble character is contacted by a projectile(e.g., fireball or shell) flung from a character not in a bubble, asimilar collision check is performed. If the result of the collisioncheck is negative, the bubble bursts and the player's character resumesnormal participation in the game. If the result of the collision checkdetermines that the in-bubble character is penetrated into a surface,the bubble is not burst.

As described above, in the example video game described herein, a playerof lesser skill can voluntarily put his/her character in a bubble and“follow along” with a player of greater skill without being vulnerableto attack or vitality-reducing game world objects. Thus, a lesserskilled player can allow a more skilled player to navigate through adifficult area of the game world until the lesser skilled player'scharacter arrives at a “safer” place. This makes the multi-player gamemore enjoyable for both greater- and lesser-skilled players.

The described systems, methods, and techniques may be implemented indigital electronic circuitry, computer hardware, firmware, software, orin combinations of these elements. Apparatus embodying these techniquesmay include appropriate input and output devices, a computer processor,and a computer program product tangibly embodied in a non-transitorymachine-readable storage device for execution by a programmableprocessor. A process embodying these techniques may be performed by aprogrammable processor executing a suitable program of instructions toperform desired functions by operating on input data and generatingappropriate output. The techniques may be implemented in one or morecomputer programs that are executable on a programmable system includingat least one programmable processor coupled to receive data andinstructions from, and to transmit data and instructions to, a datastorage system, at least one input device, and at least one outputdevice. Each computer program may be implemented in a high-levelprocedural or object-oriented programming language or in assembly ormachine language, if desired; and in any case, the language may be acompiled or interpreted language. Suitable processors include, by way ofexample, both general and special purpose microprocessors. Generally, aprocessor will receive instructions and data from a read-only memoryand/or a random access memory. Non-transitory storage devices suitablefor tangibly embodying computer program instructions and data includeall forms of computer memory including, but not limited to, non-volatilememory, including by way of example semiconductor memory devices, suchas Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), Electrically ErasableProgrammable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), and flash memory devices;magnetic disks such as internal hard disks and removable disks;magneto-optical disks; and Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM). Anyof the foregoing may be supplemented by, or incorporated in,specially-designed ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits).

The processing system/circuitry described in the specification (e.g.,CPU 104) is “programmed” to control the game process in accordance withthe “logic” described in the specification. One of ordinary skill in theart will therefore recognize that, for example, a processing systemincluding at least one CPU when executing instructions in accordancethis logic operates as “programmed logic circuitry” to perform theoperations defined by the logic.

While the systems and methods have been described in connection variousembodiments, it is to be understood that the system and method are notto be limited to the disclosed embodiment, but on the contrary, areintended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements.

We claim:
 1. A method for playing a video game, the method comprising: generating, in accordance with execution of a video game program by a computer, a virtual game world including a player-controllable game character; generating, by the computer, images of the virtual game world for display on a display screen; receiving, by the computer, during playing of the video game, a game character movement control signal, the game character movement control signal being based on input to an input device, used by a player, for controlling the game character in the virtual game world; controlling, by the computer, movements of the game character in the virtual game world in accordance with the game character movement control signal; based on determining, by the computer, during the playing of the video game, that any one of at least a first condition and a second condition is satisfied, controlling, by the computer, the virtual game world so that the game character becomes a protected game character protected from harm in the virtual game world, wherein the second condition is satisfied by an end of life of the game character; based on determining that the first condition is satisfied, the protected game character appears at a first position in the virtual game world that is substantially the same as a position of the game character in the virtual game world at a time the first condition is satisfied; and, based on determining that the second condition is satisfied, the protected game character appears at a second position in the virtual game world displaced from a position of the game character in the virtual game world at a time the second condition is satisfied; controlling, by the computer, movements of the protected game character in the virtual game world; and stopping the protecting of the protected game character in response to any one of one or more protecting stopping conditions.
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first condition is satisfied without an end of life of the game character.
 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein permitted movements of the protected game character in the virtual game world differ from permitted movements of the game character in the virtual game world before the game character becomes the protected game character.
 4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the permitted movements of the protected game character are limited relative to the permitted movements of the game character before the game character becomes the protected game character.
 5. The method according to claim 3, wherein the permitted movements of the protected game character exclude free control of the movements of the protected game character by the player.
 6. The method according to claim 3, wherein the permitted movements of the protected game character are limited to a direction determined based on a virtual game world state when a predetermined input is received by the computer.
 7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the predetermined input comprises shaking the input device.
 8. The method according to claim 6, wherein the predetermined input comprises a button press.
 9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the protected game character is visually distinguished from other unprotected game characters.
 10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the protected game character is visually distinguished by an object which surrounds or wraps around the game character.
 11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the stopping of protecting is further conditioned on the protected game character not penetrating a geographic surface feature in the virtual game world.
 12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first condition comprises a predetermined input received by the computer.
 13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first condition is based on a predetermined input received by the computer and the second condition is automatically imposed by the video game.
 14. The method according to claim 1, wherein: a game screen is displayed so that the game screen is scrollable; and when the determining determines that the second condition is satisfied, the second position of the protected game character is based on a direction in which the game screen is scrolled.
 15. The method according to claim 1, wherein a first protecting stopping condition comprises contact between the protected game character and a projectile.
 16. A video game system comprising: input devices; and processing circuitry configured to execute a video game program for a video game in which a player supplies input to an input device to control a game character in a virtual game world displayed on a display screen, the video game program being stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium and comprising instructions for at least: generating the virtual game world; generating images of the virtual game world for display on the display screen; receiving, during playing of the video game, a game character movement control signal, the game character movement control signal being based on the input to the input device; controlling movements of the game character in the virtual game world in accordance with the game character movement control signal; based on determining during the playing of the video game that any one of at least a first condition and a second condition is satisfied, controlling the virtual game world so that the game character becomes a protected game character protected from harm in the virtual game world, wherein the second condition is satisfied by an end of life of the game character; based on determining that the first condition is satisfied, the protected game character appears at a first position in the virtual game world that is substantially the same as a position of the game character in the virtual game world at a time the first condition is satisfied; and, based on determining that the second condition is satisfied, the protected game character appears at a second position in the virtual game world displaced from a position of the game character in the virtual game world at a time the second condition is satisfied; controlling movements of the protected game character in the virtual game world; and stopping the protecting of the protected game character in response to any one of one or more protecting stopping conditions.
 17. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having encoded therein program instructions for a video game in which a player supplies input to an input device to control a game character in a virtual game world displayed on a display screen, the instructions, when executed by a computer of a video game apparatus, causing the video game apparatus to perform at least: generating the virtual game world; generating images of the virtual game world for display on the display screen; receiving, during playing of the video game, a game character movement control signal, the game character movement control signal being based on the input to the input device; controlling movements of the game character in the virtual game world in accordance with the game character movement control signal; based on determining during the playing of the video game that any one of at least a first condition and a second condition is satisfied, controlling the virtual game world so that the game character becomes a protected game character protected from harm in the virtual game world, wherein the second condition is satisfied by an end of life of the game character; based on determining that the first condition is satisfied, the protected game character appears at a first position in the virtual game world that is substantially the same as a position of the game character in the virtual game world at a time the first condition is satisfied; and, based on determining that the second condition is satisfied, the protected game character appears at a second position in the virtual game world displaced from a position of the game character in the virtual game world at a time the second condition is satisfied; controlling movements of the protected game character in the virtual game world; and stopping the protecting of the protected game character in response to any one of one or more protecting stopping conditions.
 18. A video game apparatus for a video game program for a video game in which a player supplies input to an input device to control a game character in a virtual game world displayed on a display screen, the video game apparatus comprising: processing circuitry including at least one processor, the processing circuitry configured to perform operations comprising: generating the virtual game world; generating images of the virtual game world for display on a display screen; receiving, during playing of the video game, a game character movement control signal, the game character movement control signal being based on the input to the input device; controlling movements of the game character in the virtual game world in accordance with the game character movement control signal; based on determining during the playing of the video game that any one of at least a first condition and a second condition is satisfied, controlling the virtual game world so that the game character becomes a protected game character protected from harm in the virtual game world, wherein the second condition is satisfied by an end of life of the game character; based on determining that the first condition is satisfied, the protected game character appears at a position in the virtual game world that is substantially the same as a first position of the game character in the virtual game world at a time the first condition is satisfied; and, based on determining that the second condition is satisfied, the protected game character appears at a position in the virtual game world displaced from a second position of the game character in the virtual game world at a time the second condition is satisfied; controlling movements of the protected game character in the virtual game world; and stopping the protecting of the protected game character in response to any one of one or more protecting stopping conditions. 